Valuable info regarding High blood pressure!

High blood pressure or hypertension can cause lots of damage to your health. It is a condition in which your blood moves at a pace which is considered above normal and causes damage to the sensitive blood vessels of the heart. You are diagnosed with high blood pressure (hypertension) if your blood pressure readings are consistently above 140/90 mmHg. In order to know more about high blood pressure, let’s read on and get to know the causes and effects of this health risk.

Most cases of high blood pressure happen without a certain, specific cause. This is referred to as primary hypertension. In other cases, deteriorating conditions of the heart or kidney can cause high blood pressure. This condition is referred to as secondary hypertension. Medications such as birth control pills can also cause high blood pressure and remain sometimes even after the medication has been discontinued.

Who is likely to get high blood pressure?

Most people are vulnerable to high blood pressure such as

Age: Old people

Gender: Women over 65 and men over 45 years old

Ethnicity: Among all races, African Americans are more likely to become victims of high blood pressure

Hereditary: High blood pressure also depends on your family history and can be passed down the family line

Here are some causes which contribute to high blood pressure and through a change in diet and lifestyle, blood pressure can be averted.

being overweight

not exercising enough

eating an unhealthy diet

consuming excess salt

drinking alcohol

smoking

sleep apnea

stress

Effects on your health

High blood pressure can have drastic effects on your health. Regular checkup of the heartbeat and other vital organs is advised as hypertension is also referred to as a ‘silent killer’, meaning it does not show visible signs but has drastic health effects. High blood pressure, due to its force, can cause the arteries to stretch and weaken. They also damage the heart by causing irregular heartbeat rhythm. This makes the human more vulnerable to heart attacks, strokes and kidney damage etc.

Prevention Measures

If you have high blood pressure, then you need to practice caution and restraint. Here’s what you should be doing, along with consulting your family doctor.

Exercise regularly, especially cardiovascular exercises

Low sodium diets should be adopted at all costs

Quit smoking

Quit alcohol

Try to maintain a normal weight and not become a couch potato!

Keep a heartbeat monitor and refer to it on a regular basis

Consult your doctor on a regular basis and take any or all medicine based on expert opinion. Again, the importance of blood pressure as a health hazard cannot be understated hence take care and go for regular check ups.